A Fortnight of Wishes
by padfootandprongs42
Summary: "She looked into his eyes for any sign of familiarity, but he was like no royal she had seen before." Aladdin AU, where James Potter gets more than he bargained for after a simple wish. Written for jily royalty fest on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

January 30th. This may seem like any ordinary winter day, but in the kingdom of Gryffindor it was a very special day indeed. For today was the long awaited 18th birthday of Princess Lily of the Evans Family, meaning that she was now of courting age. And when a member of the royal family reached courting age it almost always meant a ball would be held. For as the future queen it was pertinent for Lily to find just the right suitor. This ball was a great deal in the entire kingdom as it was potentially a search for who would be the future king. And it was all down to Princess Lily's heart.

"Your Highness, it's time to wake up," Lily's lady in waiting, Mary, stated shaking Lily awake.

Lily groaned, "Is it morning already? I was having the most amazing dream, Mary. Leave me be."

"You know I can't do that. Today's your birthday ball! We have a lot of preparing to do and the King and Queen are waiting downstairs for you," Mary informed Lily.

Lily grunted again, but finally left the haven of her bed. She headed toward where Mary had laid out her dress for her and began to change into it. Then, she headed out the door towards the dining hall.

_A ball. What a great idea, dancing around with strangers all night who only want me for power. It's not like I'll actually get to choose whom I will spend the rest of my life with. _Lily sighed as she pictured tonight. Empty conversations, pathetic men pleading for her approval, uncomfortable shoes not meant for dancing, and of course the bloody uncomfortable dress. Sometimes Lily wondered how different life would be if she weren't a princess.

* * *

><p>The townspeople were buzzing as news of the ball that night reached Hogsmeade Square. Of course none of them could attend, as only royalty and those with money to spare received invitations. However not even that could stop what James Potter was planning to do.<p>

"Sirius, Remus, Peter! Did you guys hear? A ball! Tonight!" James chimed, not being able to wipe the smile off of his face.

"Yeah? And why are you so excited? It's not like we were invited," Sirius informed him while lounging about against a wall. There happened to be plenty of seats in the small house the four boys shared, but Sirius preferred his particular position on the ground, as the area allowed him to best enjoy the breeze from outside.

"Like that's going to stop us! If we pull off the right appearance and don't draw too much attention to ourselves we can easily slip in, the majority of the guests will be around our age after all," James exclaimed.

"Appearance? James where are we supposed to get clothes fit for royalty?" Remus questioned. He was currently seated at their modest table, trying to pen out a letter to his mum, who lived in a small farm town outside the city.

"Yeah, we aren't exactly rich," Peter pointed out from his position on the sofa.

"We steal food all the time, how different can clothes be?" James replied back.

The real reason James was so anxious to go to the ball was to see the princess. Growing up in Gryffindor, James had often caught a glimpse of Princess Lily every now and then and without fail was blown away by her beauty every single time. He had never talked to her, what with her being a princess and him being, well him. But James felt like today would be different. Perhaps today would be his lucky day.

"Well don't come crawling back to us when you're thrown out," Sirius announced shutting his eyes closed. Normally Sirius would jump at any opportunity to wreak havoc, but today he was set on lounging about.

"Fine I'll just find clothes myself then," James humphed and headed towards the shops.

_Now where to get clothes fit for royalty? _James thought to himself. Princes didn't exactly come down to the square to buy their lavish clothing.

_There is a tailor about a block down, _James realized, and began jogging towards it. Seeing that the ball was tonight the tailor must have had something that would be suitable. By dodging about carts and people milling about in street, James had reached the tailor's shop in minutes.

James entered the shop quietly, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself. He quickly took the shop in. It seemed that the tailor was in the back of the shop, making James' task a lot simpler. James' attention was quickly drawn to some clothes neatly piled on his left. He dashed and rapidly picked up the most pristine men's attire of the lot. Having his desired clothes in his hand he briskly made his way towards the door to make his getaway.

However, he was not quick enough. Right when James had picked up the clothes the tailor returned to the front of the store. He was now aggressively calling for the royal guards, who were posted around the square in preparation for the ball, to chase after James. James ran for his life, but the guards spotted him and were now on his toes. He momentarily got ahead and looked around for a place to hide. Next to a house, conveniently hidden away by the alleyway, James spotted a shed. Without a thought he bustled into it before the guards could catch sight of him.

He pressed his ear against the door of the shed and breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the oblivious guards pass his hiding spot. James spent a few seconds catching his breath before looking down and examining the result of his task. He groaned in frustration. The clothes were now dirty from his run as well as too small for his frame to begin with. They seemed to be made for someone much younger than him. All his running had been for nothing. Lifting his eyes up from the disappointment that were the clothes, James noticed how peculiar the shed was. It was completely empty aside from one lonely brass lamp.

Although the lamp looked fairly non-descript, James was pulled towards it with curiosity. If nothing else, perhaps he could sell the lamp and use the money to purchase some suitable attire for the ball. Walking towards the center of the abandoned shack, James picked up the brass lamp gingerly. There was a thick coating of dust on the lamp, but at a closer look, one could make out elaborate carvings and engravings beneath the grime. James was truly excited at this discovery. An elegantly carved lamp would bring in a great sum of money, so he began to rub the lamp in earnest to see what beauty the dirt hid.

A moment after he started rubbing, James widened his eyes in surprise as the lamp began to hum underneath his fingers.

"What the hell?" He brought the lamp close to his ear to listen. Perhaps some poor insect was trapped inside.

"Hey little guy, I'll get you out of—ahhhh!" The lamp was glowing red and burned James's hands from where they were holding it. He hurled the lamp to the ground, where it progressed from humming to full out shaking and thrashing.

That lamp wasn't harboring an insect, James decided. Oh no. A full grown _fucking zebra_ must have been kicking about in there.

As the the lamp continued to vibrate violently, a blue mist swirledl its way out of the lamp's funnel. James tripped over his feet as he backed away, not interested in breathing whatever toxic gas the lamp may have been emitting. The smoke kept coming until it filled the entire shed. There was no escaping it.

The smoke had now obscured his surroundings, and James couldn't see any part of the wooden walls. He could no longer hear the hustling and bustling of people walking about outside. If James didn't know any better, he would have thought that he was no longer in the shed, but in some other dimension, merely a vast expanse filled with the mysterious blue smoke.

James looked up to see that the smoke was not done. It was now forming the figure of a man. He began to panic as he saw the gas turning into an increasingly distinct shape. Was this someone's idea of a joke? Because James could not believe what was taking place before his eyes.

The smoky apparition was more clear now and looked like some interpretation of Merlin; someone was definitely messing with his head. The man was fairly tall with long silver hair, and donned an old cloak giving him the appearance of a wizard. Where his feet should have been, the smoke that he was made filtered back into the lamp.

"Oh dear, I fear I developed quite an ache in my back," he licked his finger and held it up in the air as if he was inspecting the draft, "it seems it's been about 345 years since I have been let out." James stared in shock as the figure from the lamp began to talk.

"What are you?" he exclaimed. The figure looked for the source of the sound, and seemed to have noticed James for the first time.

"Introductions? Oh I seem to have gotten ahead of myself here, I always do get caught on in the excitement. I already know who you are, James Potter. I am Dumbledore, great genie of Hogwarts. But you've heard of me of course?" Dumbledore explained, with a look of utmost calm, while still trying to stretch out his limbs, if one could even call his shadowy extensions that.

James shook his head, this was definitely some sort of hallucination. He probably bumped his head against some rock while running from the guards. No way _genies_ of all things could truly exist. Maybe if he played along with the old coot he would be able to snap out of this reverie sooner.

"Er no, sorry, I haven't heard of you," James awkwardly replied while scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't aware that genies existed actually. So I'm just going to leave here and go back where I came from. Nice meeting you." James made his way towards where the door should have been, but couldn't seem to see anything other than the blue glow of the genie. He turned back towards Dumbledore in confusion.

"Where'd the door go?" he asked.

"I do believe we are no longer in that cramped old shed I was unfortunately placed in. Those quarters are much too small for my figure. If I could hazard a guess, I would say that we are now in a cave just outside the city. Besides, dear boy, what's the hurry? I haven't even gotten to explaining myself yet. You humans, always so quick to leave," Dumbledore tutted while producing a chair out of thin air. "Now take a seat so I can continue with what I was saying before."

Seeing there was no alternative exit out of the former shed, James reluctantly settled into the chair.

"Now, as I stated before, I am Dumbledore, great genie of Hogwarts, and today is your lucky day. Being a genie, and being that you decided to pick up my lamp, I am obliged to grant you three wishes. However, before you jump up and begin to use my services I must warn you that there are certain rules that come with this power. Firstly, you cannot wish for someone to fall in love with you. Second, you cannot create or take away life. And finally you cannot wish for more wishes," Dumbledore explained, gazing expectantly at James.

"Right, well, either I'm asleep, or I've officially gone off in the head. Crazy hallucination, could you please escort me to the door?" James announced, once more heading towards where he thought the door was.

"I've already told you, this is all real. If you don't believe me then go ahead and make your first wish. It will do you no harm," Dumbledore suggested.

James considered this and agreed that really no harm would come with making a wish. Really, the worst thing that could happen would be that it wouldn't come true.

"You do have a point, okay well I wish to- erm…," James took a moment to think, he had to word this exactly right.

He began again. "Well you see, there's this girl—"

Dumbledore interrupted him before James could go any further. "I'm afraid I am already apprehensive about this wish. Remember, my first rule is that I cannot make anyone fall in love with you."

"No, I know that. It's just that she and I aren't exactly on the same level, so I was hoping that you could help me to get her attention."

"Not on your level? Nonsense. You seem like a perfectly nice boy. I cannot see why you would think yourself beneath any girl." Dumbledore addressed him with a pleasant smile, and James felt himself oddly comforted by the strange old apparition.

"Well you see it isn't my personal beliefs per say, its more of what's socially acceptable," James stated, trying to explain the situation to the outdated genie. "You see, the girl I'm trying to talk to just happens to be the princess of Gryffindor. Princess Lily, to be exact."

"Ah," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "I'm afraid you do, in fact, have a problem there."

"Yes," James exclaimed, glad that the genie understood his dilemma. "There's a ball at the palace tonight, so I was hoping you could make me a prince. Just so that I would be able to enter the ball and actually have a chance with the princess.."

"I believe that can be arranged," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his sharp blue eyes, which seemed to stand apart from the rest of his blue-tinted body. "Is that your first wish then, James?"

James squared his shoulders and grinned at the genie. With a big breath, he said, "Dumbledore, I wish you would turn me into a prince."

* * *

><p>It had been ten minutes and Lily was already regretting agreeing to the ball. Sure, it was customary for all princesses to have one on their 18th birthday, but really she would've survived without one. So far she had gotten away with not accepting any dances, but she knew her luck wouldn't last long. Sooner or later her parents would force her to accept someone's oh-so-genuine proposal. Still, she had endured plenty for the night in her opinion. Finding different ways to politely reject the advances of men twice your age was more taxing than anyone could have imagined. And the men her age were no better. One of them, the Duke of Hufflepuff, had gone so far as to comment on possible wedding themes. At that point, Lily had sprinted away to Mary who stood at the periphery of the ball room observing Lily's misery.<p>

"Mary, you've got to do something," Lily complained. "Tell my mum and dad that I ate something that didn't sit well with my stomach. I'll just slip past these people and make my way back to my room."

"Princess Lily!" Mary admonished. "Do you suggest that I lie to my Queen and King to save you from socializing with these kind suitors?"

Lily grinned back wickedly. "I am, and you will. S'later Mary!"

Lily dashed away before Mary could reprimand her for her actions. Lily knew Mary would huff and puff at Lily's improper use of etiquette, but in the end it would all be an act. Mary was just a servant, but she was also Lily's best friend, and she would do anything to get Lily out of a night she knew the young princess despised.

Lily turned back to see if Mary had moved from her spot along the wall when she crashed into a warm, solid mass. Because she was wearing a dress with long flowing skirts and a very dangerous pair of heels, Lily was not able to balance herself from the impact. She closed her eyes as she prepared herself for her inevitable crash to the floor.

But the crash didn't come. Instead she was being cradled by strong arms that most definitely belonged to a man. She looked up to meet her savior's eyes. Hazel eyes, she noted. Beautiful hazel eyes. She was captivated by them and suddenly found herself flustered by their proximity. Lily stole her gaze from her savior's eyes, and let it roam around the rest of his face. He had slightly tanned skin, which was not common for nobles, who spent most of their time indoors in court. He was immaculately dressed, but his raven black hair was messy and windswept, and looked as if it had never been brushed. His most striking feature were his eyes, and at a second glance, she noticed that his eyes were, in fact, framed by a pair of black glasses.

The man lifted his lips in a sort of amused smile, and Lily blushed as she realized she had been staring at him for a good minute. She moved herself out of the mysterious man's arms and brushed off invisible dust from her dress, clearing her throat.

"Sorry about that, I do happen to be quite clumsy from time to time," Lily admitted, slightly embarrassed that he had caught her staring at him.

"And here I thought you were falling for me," he replied with a smirk appearing on his face.

Lily's eyebrows lifted in surprise. No man tonight had addressed her in this manner. The teasing and joking were a refreshing change to the stiff mood that had accompanied her all night.

"Hmm, well, I suppose you caught me before I fell too far," Lily teased back, finding herself in a good mood for the first time during the ball. Her savior's smirk transformed into a full-out grin.

"As your hero, I believe I deserve a reward," he began. "So m'lady, may I have this dance?" he said, slightly bowing and extending his arm towards her.

Glancing around her she could see that her parents were fixed on their exchange. They were nodding their heads, pushing Lily to accept his offer. A dance tonight was inevitable and he did just save her, and judging by his outward appearance he was already much more appealing than the others.

"Okay then, dear sir," Lily said, adopting his same lofty manner, "I believe I will grant you one dance tonight." She accepted his hand with a small smile on her face.

With her hand in his, he guided her to the center of the ballroom. Placing his other hand on her waist , they began moving in sync to the elegant music playing in the background. The two of them danced in silence, but the room around them erupted in whispers as people noticed the elusive princess finally donning to make an appearance on the ballroom floor.

"I see people are whispering at us," Lily's dance partner noted.

She sighed. "Well you are the first person I danced with tonight."

An emotion that Lily couldn't quite place flitted across his face. There was a ring of true honesty in his voice when he replied. "Princess Lily, you have no idea how honored I am to hear that."

Lily gave him a small smile, and the two began to dance in silence once more. Her partner wasn't the best of dancers, but she found that she was enjoying herself anyways. The man had an easiness about him that wasn't present in other royal men she had met. As their dance ended, her mysterious partner slowly bowed down and pressed his lips to her hand. Lily felt her hand burn where his lips touched her skin. Her heart fluttered in an unfamiliar way as he leaned in close to her ear and whispered.

"It was a pleasure dancing with you tonight Princess Lily."

Lily opened her mouth and found she couldn't reply. With a shaky breath she tried again.  
>"It was a pleasure dancing with you too. But I don't even know your name" She looked into his eyes to find any sign of familiarity. However, this man looked like he was from no royal family she had met before.<p>

Strangely, he hesitated before answering. "Um, I'm Prince James of Godric. My parents are King Charlus and Queen Dorea."

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of that kingdom before," Lily said, with puzzled eyes.

"Yes, well, its quite far away, so I can imagine that being the case."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Lily could see Mary with her knowing look, and she remembered what she had been doing before she crashed into Prince James. As lovely as he was, and as much fun as she had while dancing with him, Lily could not stay by James's side the entire night, so retiring to her room still seemed like the best option. Lily turned back to the prince, who was glancing around the room with a look of wonder in his eyes. She poked his shoulder to get his attention.

"Dancing with you was truly lovely, but I've got to go now," she told him.

"Already? Leaving so early from your own ball?" James looked confused.

"Yes, well not everyone here is as pleasurable to dance with as you were, and I'm afraid I don't really enjoy balls. Good night," Lily replied with a smile, turning towards the exit.

"Wait," James stated grabbing her arm. "I forgot to wish you a happy birthday."

"Oh," Lily blushed. "Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you." She turned towards the exit once more. Once again, James grabbed her arm. When Lily looked at him, a slight blush dusted his cheeks.

"Will I get to see you again, princess?" He asked.

Lily looked at him with confusion at this question and chuckled. "Why of course. I should hope so. You are planning on spending the fortnight at the palace, no? I believe my father extended this invitation to all present at the ball."

A look of relief crossed James's face. "Silly me," he said. "Yes, of course. I am staying for the next two weeks. How could I have forgotten?"

Lily smiled at the endearing prince who was running a hand through his hair and was now sporting a very definitive red blush.

"I'll see you tomorrow Prince James," she said, still smiling, before turning around with a swish of her skirts and finally slipping out the ballroom doors.

It was a few moments before James was able to find his voice and shake himself out of the stupor Princess Lily had entranced him in. He now had a grin on his face that wouldn't leave, no matter how hard he tried to school his features.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I suppose you will."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Although our story is inspired by Aladdin, it only loosely follows the events in the movie. So please don't be worried if the plot doesn't move exactly as you might remember! -Padfoot**

**I hope you enjoyed this! We appreciate reviews and will have more updates in the very near future! -Prongs**


	2. Chapter 2

"What the hell are you wearing?"

James sighed in exasperation. "Sirius, were you even listening to what I've been telling you for the past half hour?"

James was in a daze from all that had occurred the previous day. He still couldn't believe how lucky he had been. Not only had the princess agreed to dance with him, but she had also left with a promise of seeing him again. But however dream-like this new lifestyle he found himself in was, James still felt like he owed his friends an explanation before anything else. That was why he found himself back in Hogsmeade Square in his house with the lads at about 7 in the morning. After the late hour the previous night's ball had ended at, the residents of Gryffindor palace were still widely asleep. It hadn't been difficult for James to slip out of his room in the palace and make his way out of the gates undetected. Donning a cloak over his conspicuous clothes, James was practically invisible among the throngs of people in Hogsmeade Square.

For the last 30 minutes, James had been explaining to Sirius, Remus, and Peter the events of last afternoon that had led to him landing a dance with the beautiful princess Lily Evans.

Apparently Sirius was still preoccupied with ogling James's new princely outfit.

"I have mate," Sirius said, barely holding in a snort, "but to be honest it's kind of distracting when you're standing there looking like clotpole."

At this Sirius and Peter burst into laughter, and had to hold onto each other to keep their balance. James, on the other hand, began growing slightly red, and collapsed into a chair with a huff.

"Clotpole? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?" he sulked.

Sirius paused in his laughter and pretended to think. "Does pathetic wanker suit you better?" he asked with a smirk.

"Hey-" James began, but before he could get any farther in his rebuttal, Remus interrupted him.

"As fascinating as your clothes are James, I think you lot are really missing the big point here. Did you say a _genie_ helped you?"

"Yes!" James exclaimed. "I know it's hard to believe-hell, I thought I was hallucinating at first-but, actually hold on a mo'," he rambled, while getting up and walking towards the door of their small house. He picked up his rucksack from the ground where he had dropped it and his cloak earlier.

He pulled the lamp out of the depths of the sack, and held it out to show to the boys, who were all sitting attentively on the sofa.

"So that's the lamp then?" Peter asked, leaning forward.

"Doesn't look so magical to me," Sirius added.

James ignored their comments and began rubbing the lamp as he had that first time.

The signature blue mist began funneling out of the antique lamp and everyone's expressions morphed into ones of disbelief. There had often been talk of witchcraft, which in most cases resulted in being burnt at the stake, but none of them had ever really believed in it. It was simply an excuse to accuse people of crimes. Yet, here was this mysterious smoke appearing from a tiny lamp which was in no way natural.

The smoke quickly molded into the figure of the genie himself. Their faces transformed from disbelief into absolute shock.

James carefully placed the lamp on the floor and flopped back in his chair triumphantly. He leaned back and smirked at the lads' gobsmacked expressions. Served them right for making fun of his clothes, he thought.

Dumbledore shook himself as if waking up from a nap and began to speak, " I see you've brought company."

"Yeah I hope you don't mind, they were unbelievers who just had to be disproved," James nonchalantly replied from his relaxed position.

"Is seeing me proof enough for them, or must I show a few tricks as well?" Dumbledore had a strange, mischievous twinkle in his eye that James wasn't sure he altogether trusted.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter had their eyes glued on Dumbledore speechless.

"Hm, maybe a trick would be good," James replied.

"Very well then," said Dumbledore, and with a snap of his fingers he promptly turned all three of the boys shocking pink-clothes, skin, and all.

This snapped Sirius out of his lack of speech.

"Oi! Okay so magic exists, this doesn't mean you can vandalize my person. I mean c'mon, pink?" Sirius exclaimed.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I trust that you believe in my abilities then?"

"Yes!"

"Okay but even if you do have this genie on your side to grant your wishes, this still doesn't stop Lily inevitably finding out you aren't really a prince. You can't lie to her forever," Remus chimed in.

"I wasn't planning on lying to her forever," said James, suddenly sobered. The lazy smirk on his face was replaced with a solemn expression. "I'm just using my wishes to get an honest shot of getting to know the Princess. We all know that us meeting would never have occurred without some sort of magical intervention."

"What about the King? Even if Princess Lily does fall for you, it doesn't change the rules. A princess cannot marry a commoner. It has always been that way and always will, you won't be an exception," Remus reminded James.

"Woah Remus, you're thinking far too long term there. I'm still just taking baby steps." James's grin returned. "Actually, there was another reason why I just summoned Dumbledore."

James shifted in his seat so that he faced the genie.

"Since I'm technically a prince now, and princes don't travel alone, I should have an entourage to keep my cover, no?" He asked.

"So like your advisers?" Peter asked.

"I was thinking more along servants, but sure advisers could work," James said.

Dumbledore mulled that over. "I suppose that is true."

"Then it wouldn't count as a second wish if I asked you to outfit the lads as members of a royal court?" James asked.

"You're a clever boy, James," Dumbledore admitted cheerfully. "No, it would not count as a second wish. I would think of it merely as an extension of the first." With that Dumbledore again snapped his fingers, and the three boys were now outfitted in clothes fit for royalty.

"Man, we should've thought of this years ago," Sirius marveled as he examined his new clothes. "I mean stealing food? What were we thinking? We really should've been after the clothes from the beginning. I've never felt so _proper_."

Remus snorted.

"Does this mean that we will get to stay in the palace with you?" Peter anxiously asked.

Growing up poor had given the four of them quite unrealistic dreams of one day being rich and living in a palace. For boys who had barely lived in a real house the chance to even step inside the walls of the palace was one of their greatest dreams.

James grinned. "Yeah Pete. And now," he stood up and grabbed his rucksack. "I believe we're due for an audience with the King."

Lily woke that morning with a spring in her step. She had a giddy feeling of expectation, as if something marvelous was to occur today. Her mother noticed her good mood during breakfast that morning. Although Lily always had a cheery disposition, it was quite out of character for her to be humming a silly tune as she ate her food. Especially the morning after a ball.

"You seem quite happy darling," said the Queen.

"Do I?" Lily innocently asked as she tried wiping the grin off her face.

"You're always so grumpy the morning after balls. Does this have to do with that boy I saw you dancing with last night?" the Queen eagerly questioned. "I think the two of you looked absolutely adorable together!"

"Mum!" Lily flushed red.

"He was the _only _one you danced with yesterday. There's not much to compare to," the Queen pointed out.

"There was no one else decent to dance with," Lily said to herself, while purposely not looking at her mother, who wore a knowing smile.

"Lily sweetheart, don't mumble," the King said distractedly. He was poring over official documents that had been forgotten last night in lieu of the ball.

"Arthur, how many times must I tell you that the dining table is not the place for work and papers?" The Queen asked exasperatedly.

"Sorry dearest, but these had to be attended to." The King got up from his chair and a servant rushed to pick up his dirty plate. "As a matter of fact, I must go to the throne room at once-it's imperative that Gryffindor formally greet all the attendees of yesterday's ball. Lily, why don't you come with me? I could use your help." He winked at his daughter.

Lily got up with a grin. Both she and her father preferred to flee the room as quickly as possible whenever her mum started talking about boys in front of Lily. As always, the conversation would ultimately lead to the topic of marriage. Although Lily was now officially of age, both the King and Princess were willing to ignore the subject for another few years.

"Lily, I wasn't done talking with you," her mother began, but Lily interrupted her with a quick peck on the cheek and a "goodbye mother," and ran after her father to the throne room.

"Thank you for that father," Lily said as she caught up to King Arthur's long strides.

"Not a problem dear," he replied back jovially, "but I do fear the time is slowly approaching when we won't be able to ignore your mother's hints."

"But that time is definitely not here yet."

"No, I believe it is not," her father replied with a smile. They were standing in the doorway of the throne room, and he pointed to a figure standing to the far left of the throne. "I see Severus is out and about even earlier than the King himself!"

The son of the King's late steward, Severus Snape was one of the King's closest advisors. Although five years apart in age, he and the princess had grown up as the best of friends. He had been a sort of mentor for her through the years, and had taught her many things concerning politics that were not always too obvious around the castle.

Lily forgot all etiquette and bounded across the room to her oldest friend.

"Sev, I didn't see you last night," she said.

"I'm not really one for balls," Severus answered nonchalantly, frowning slightly. Of course Lily would have known such a fact. After all, they had spent countless years escaping from such horrors. Severus wasn't required to be present at balls, and the two of them were always together on these nights. The fact that she spoke as if they hadn't shared such memories struck Severus as odd.

"Oh right, of course!" Lily exclaimed distractedly, as if she had forgotten the fact her best friend avoided balls like the plague.

The King came alongside the two and gave Severus a smile, "You should've been there Severus. Lily actually danced with someone out of her _own accord!_"

Severus had always been around and was even one of the King's most trusted advisors. He knew the royal family better than his own. He knew just how strange the notion of Lily dancing with someone at a ball was. For so many years the two of them would sit around ridiculing how superficial the gentlemen at the balls were. All so posh and fake, it was always quite amusing to the pair how ridiculous they were. So to hear that Lily willingly chose to dance with one of those prats made Severus' blood boil. It sickened him to imagine Lily-_his Lily_-dancing with some spoiled git who had managed to charm the elusive princess for the night.

"Is that so?" Severus replied, feigning interest. "Well Lily, I was waiting here to ask if you would like to-"

Right then Severus was interrupted by a group of four young men entering the room. They were laughing raucously as they stumbled in, unaware at first of the others in the room. Lily's eyes flitted away from Severus' and instead lit up and latched onto the four boys. To her delight, Prince James was one of the loud boys who had just entered. All Lily could see was Prince James' adorable smirk as he met her eyes, and Severus' furrowed brows and increasingly deepening frown went completely unnoticed.

"How immature and disrespectful," Severus scoffed. "Who do they think they are, bumbling into the throne room like that." He looked to Lily for some sign of agreement, but the princess continued to stare at the tallest boy, the one with the most ridiculous hair, in Severus' opinion.

The King's eyes lit up in recognition. "Dear, isn't that the young man you danced with last night?"

Lily simply blushed in response.

"Your Royal Highness!" James exclaimed, making his way over to Lily and her father.

Lily could practically feel Severus's eye-roll at the prince's dramatics.

Prince James turned to her father, "Your Majesty," he said with a small bow.

"It is nice to finally meet you," the King started, "Lily, would you please introduce us?"

"Er, of course," she stuttered. "Father, this is Prince James of Godric. Prince James, this is my father, His Majesty, King Arthur of Gryffindor."

"It is an honor to meet you," James said, bowing again.

"Oh that really isn't necessary," the King said as he held his hand out to James, "it really is a pleasure to meet you. It's not everyday that a young man gets my daughter to dance with them."

"I'll admit, I was surprised she agreed." James sent Lily a grin that made her blush even more. "But it was the best part of the ball last night."

"Well our Princess here does love to keep everyone on her toes," the King replied with a wink.

Severus, who was watching this exchange with a look of undisguised contempt, finally decided to address James. "You said you were from where, exactly?" He questioned.

"Godric," James replied, smoothly.

Severus narrowed his eyes. The name didn't draw any recognition from him. "I'm afraid I've never heard of a place called Godric before."

"Perhaps it may be due to how far it is from here. It isn't quite as large or grand as Gryffindor either." James suggested.

"I've read about countless kingdoms, but Godric had never shown up in any book I've seen," Snape pressed on.

"Well then you haven't been reading the right books."

Before Severus could answer him, the King interrupted with a hearty laugh. "Let's not bombard our guest with needless questions, Severus." He turned to James. "Severus here is one of my most trusted advisors, but perhaps a bit too cautious and curious."

Lily could sense the tension and went to change the subject. "Who are these people with you, Prince James?"

"They are my servants," James quickly responded.

Remus nudged James slightly, "He meant advisors."

"Er, right, advisors," James corrected. "My most trusted advisors and closest friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. I hope it's fine that I brought them with me?"

"Of course it is, we can't have royalty travelling by themselves now can we?" the King replied with a chuckle.

"No, of course not," Severus stiffly said.

"Well I really must get going. It was a pleasure to meet you all," the King said as he turned to greet others in the throne room.

James and his entourage bowed again as the King left them.

"It was nice seeing you again," Lily said.

"I hope I will see you soon?" James hopefully asked.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Lily winked as she followed her father.

Severus simply humphed in James' direction before leaving the room in the opposite direction. There was something about this Prince James that he didn't trust, and he was determined to figure it out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! We would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and any criticism on it! And of course we named Lily's father Arthur (King Arthur all the way woo!). Well until the next chapter so long and thanks for all the fish! -Prongs**


	3. Chapter 3

Severus took a deep, filling breath as he stepped into the gardens. The atmosphere in the castle was stifling, and he craved a moment to himself. All through the morning, he tried to concentrate on his work, but his mind was preoccupied with the conversation involving Lily and the _prats. _Who did they think they were, those upstarts, trying to steal her away from him? He knew it would happen one day-after all, Lily was the Princess-but he always imagined Lily would be pulled into one of those loveless marriages rife in the nobility and Severus would remain her close companion. Her interactions with that prince though worried him, and reminded him too much of how he wanted Lily to look at _him_.

No matter though. Severus would dispose of that prince problem easily enough and then Lily would be solely his once more.

With those thoughts to comfort him, he wandered further into the Royal gardens. He made his way towards the maze, his regular hideout when he needed to escape all those pretentious fops that littered the castle.

Unfortunately, the maze today wasn't as quiet as it typically was. He could hear faint voices a few paces along. _Great, just what I need._ He had left the castle with the sole purpose of leaving those tittering voices and now they came and invaded his haven. Severus made to turn around when he heard a sharp laugh that stopped his step. It was peculiarly similar to a certain prince's, although it could have been his paranoid imagination at this point. He was too intrigued not to investigate. Anything he could possibly learn about this prince was welcome-he didn't believe this Godric nonsense a single jot.

"James, how long do you think this is going to last?"

"I don't want to talk about this."

"You can't just ignore the obvious problem here."

"Remus, I said I don't want to talk about it."

"Mate, the three of us are only looking out for you.

"I appreciate the concern Sirius, but there's nothing to worry about. I've got everything under control."

"Then let's just say, hypothetically, that everyone finds out we live in Hogsmeade square. What are you going to do then?"

There was silence for a few moments, then, "I guess I'll figure it out if we ever get there."

Severus's heart began racing. He knew it, he had called it from the second he had laid eyes on the so called prince. He would go to the king at once-no. No, he would go to Lily at once. This was perfect. He could tell Lily about how Prince James wasn't who he was claiming to be, and she would be his again. Just like that, everything would be as it should be. There was no way in hell Severus would let this commoner get in the way of his grand scheme. Severus discreetly exited from the maze with a smug smile on his face. His trip to the gardens couldn't have been more relaxing.

Lily found herself humming for the second time that day as she walked through the castle halls. It was a tune that was vaguely familiar, and she blushed as she realized what exactly she was humming-the song she and Prince James had danced to last night. Her blush deepened as she remembered the way he had smiled at her this morning, and the way he had caught her in his arms at the ball. She didn't quite understand her feelings for the prince yet, but she knew one thing for certain; she would not mind getting to know him better.

"Lily!"

She turned around with a hopeful expression on her face at the sound of her name, and her smile dropped a little when she realized it was only Severus. She mentally berated herself at her disappointment. It had been some time since she had had a proper conversation with her best friend.

"Severus! How are you?" Lily replied, trying her best not to let her voice hint at any disappointment.

"May I have a word with you?" Severus asked, in a seemingly desperate tone.

"Of course, is everything okay?" Lily's face grew worried, as nothing good could come out of this situation.

"It concerns Prince James of Godric," Snape began, "it seems he is not who he is claiming to be."

"What ever do you mean, Severus?"

"I have it on good account that Prince James actually resides in Hogsmeade Square, _not_ in the Kingdom of Godric as he claims," Severus revealed with a tone of smugness to his voice.

Lily fell silent for a few moments. She could not understand how such a statement could hold any truth to it. He both spoke and acted like a prince, and there was no doubt in Lily's mind that he truly was one. The tone of Severus' voice also made Lily quite suspicious. She could tell from the moment Severus met Prince James that he did not like him one bit.

"You're bluffing." Lily replied confidently.

"What?" Snape was taken aback by such an accusation.

"You're just jealous!" It all made sense to Lily now. Why else would Severus make up such blatant lies? It was true that Lily hadn't spent as much time with Severus as she used to and he must've laid blame upon Prince James.

"Me? Jealous! That is absolutely absurd! You're the whore who's falling for that stupid Prince. When have you even heard of a place called Godric?" Severus spat out, angered.

Lily paled and felt Severus's barb like a real physical blow to the stomach. "How dare you?" She whispered, with barely concealed fury and disgust in her eyes.

Severus opened his mouth to respond but could not form any words. He gaped at Lily as though only just realizing what he had said.

Several moments of quiet passed before, with her jaw determinately set, Lily spat out, "I'm done here," and spun on her heel to leave. Her body jerked in its movement when a hand wrapped firmly around her wrist.

"Lily don't overreact! I didn't mean it!"

Lily whipped around so quickly her hair barely missed Severus's face. "Don't overreact?" She said with an incredulous laugh. "Dear god, Severus you should listen to yourself! You tell me not to overreact for calling me a _whore_, and you haven't even apologized yet!"

"No, no I am sorry!" Severus cried in desperation. "But this isn't what I wanted to talk about-"

"You're right," Lily cut him off. "I don't want to talk about this either." She began peeling his fingers off of her wrist.

"Lily-" Severus tried to begin again.

"Don't 'Lily' me," she snapped. "You've lost that privilege. This whore's name is Princess Lily and you'll do well to remember that. Goodbye Snape."

"But-,"

Lily did not deign to acknowledge Severus's last, half-hearted plea as she finally pulled herself out of his now limp grip. She continued down the hall with her head held high, and did not look back at the man standing, mouth still agape, in the hallway. For some reason, Severus did not think this was like any other fight he had had with Lily before. Never had she walked away without fully hearing him out, and never had she reminded him of her superiority in rank. In fact, he realized, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that this conversation could not have gone any worse. Severus was shaken out of his stupor when a harried servant bustled past him. He shook his head as if he was waking up from a bad dream. He was Severus Snape. There was a reason why he was the king's most trusted advisor. He would do whatever was needed to win his Lily back. And right now, the best way to do that was by getting rid of that ridiculous James of Godric, who, Severus concluded, was most definitely the root of all his problems.

His words echoed in Lily's head. Part of her still couldn't fathom Severus' insults. Growing up, he had always been there for her and now it was he who had been causing her anguish. She had trusted him, but now all she could feel towards him was betrayal.

The pair had gotten into fights before, but this was different. The way Severus had spurted out those dreadful words-there was no doubt in Lily's mind that he had meant them. Before long Lily began to feel tears trickling down her face. In order to avoid detection, she ducked into the closest room.

She sat down on the bed and began to take deep breaths. _I will not cry_, Lily repeatedly told herself. _He is not worth it, _she desperately tried reasoning with herself. But then her mind flashed back again to only ten minutes ago-the hatred in Severus's eyes and the malicious conviction with which he spoke-and Lily could not stem her tears any longer. Her body shook with sobs as she released all her anger and frustration with Severus. She did not expect to ever be able to forgive him, but she still felt the loss of a good friend acutely.

Lily sank down and buried her head in the pillows, succumbing to her feelings. She was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she was completely oblivious to the door quietly opening, as someone entered into the dark room.

She did, however hear the distinct grumble of "fucking wankers" and hurried to wipe away any evidence of her tears.

"Excuse me?" She asked the intruder.

"Bloody hell, what are you doing in my bed?" the man exclaimed, with much surprise laced into his voice.

"I-," she began, but was quickly cut off by the man, who had stepped into the scant light filtering through the curtains.

"Princess?"

"Prince James? Wh-what are you doing in here?" Lily asked, trying to keep her voice even.

"This is my bedroom," he said slowly. "Are you alright, Princess?" he asked, noticing her red-rimmed eyes.

"Oh it's nothing," Lily answered, refusing to look at James in the face.

He looked at her as though he knew she was lying, but remained silent. Lily quickly added his sensitivity to his list of admirable traits.

"Well I suppose it was _something_," Lily began, surprised that she was finding it so easy to open up to this man who she had known for barely two days.

"It's fine Princess, you don't have to repeat something that upset you. In fact, I've got an idea. How about I show you a special place, to help you get your mind off of whatever is upsetting you."

Lily looked at him sceptically. "Is this place in the castle? I've never left the castle walls before."

"It's a surprise. Do you trust me Princess?" James asked, holding out his hand to her. Lily took it, transfixed, as he lead her out of the room.


End file.
